


From The Dead

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Kiss, Hurt Theo Raeken, Love Confessions, M/M, Presumed Dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25271386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: Theo is hurt protecting Scott, and is presumed dead when he vanishes soon after. Scott won't accept it and goes looking for him.
Relationships: Scott McCall/Theo Raeken
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61
Collections: Teen Wolf Bingo





	From The Dead

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DemonzDust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonzDust/gifts).



> For DemonzDust, who prompted Presumed Dead for Teen Wolf Bingo.

Scott’s gotten used to the lack of silence by now, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t be unsettling. Especially in moments like these.

He never realized until he got bitten just how much noise there was in the quiet. Whether it was a clock ticking or the hum of the fridge or the wind whistling against the window. 

Scott’s all too aware of each noise right now. Each intake of breath and exhale. Each heartbeat. A reminder of the one that’s missing. The one he would give anything to hear right now.

His eyes never leave the door, afraid that if he looks away even for a moment that he’ll miss something. He shouldn’t be here. He should be out there. He should be looking with the others and not here being useless.

“Scott,” his mom says, resting a hand on his arm. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“No,” Scott says, shaking his head. “I’m not sleeping until…” Until what? Until they find him? Until he knows whether he’s okay or…

He can’t go there. He won’t. He’s done a pretty good job of believing it’s all going to be fine. Even as he plays out the last few hours in his head, or really, that one long moment when his world stopped.

“I need to be here when he gets home.”

“Scott.” There’s a crack in her voice as she speaks. “I know you want to believe Theo is okay…”

“He has to be,” Scott says, looking away from the door for the first time in hours to meet his mom’s gaze. “He _has_ to.”

A car pulls up in the drive, and Scott jumps to his feet, running towards the door before the Sheriff has even had time to get out of his car. “Did you find him?”

The Sheriff shakes his head, his face grave. “We’ve been looking everywhere, but with how dark it is now… we haven’t found him. We’re going to start back up in the morning when it…”

“You’re just going to stop looking?” Scott asks, voice rising with his panic. “We can’t do that! He’s hurt and he needs help!”

“I know that son,” the Sheriff says. “And I know how much you care about him, but we have to be realistic here. You said it yourself he was stabbed in the chest before he went over that cliff.”

“He’s survived worse than that,” Scott argues.

“I know that,” the Sheriff tells him. “I want to believe he’s out there alive. But you should know, the county is looking at this as a recovery, not a rescue.”

“No.” Scott shakes his head, and takes a step back. “I’m going to find him.”

“Scott,” his mom calls from the porch. “Scott you can’t go out there by yourself.”

“I’m going to find him.”

Scott doesn't wait for a response. He's not going to be talked out of this. He runs down the driveway, bypassing his bike and heading straight for the street. He needs this. He needs to run so much that he feels the burning in his lungs. 

He’s not sure where he can even look that the sheriff’s department hasn’t covered, but he has to do something. He can’t just give up. Theo’s out there somewhere and he needs him, and Scott is going to find him. He’s not going to stop looking until he has him back.

He reaches the edge of the river, and looks around. The scents are fainter here, washed away by the water. That doesn’t mean Theo isn’t nearby. He looks up at the cliff above him and shudders. 

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He’d brought Theo up here to talk to him. To maybe find the damn courage to tell him how he feels, but before he’d even gotten the chance they’d been interrupted. An omega had appeared, heading right for Scott. He’d lunged, and Scott had braced himself for the attack. But it never came. Theo had jumped in front of him. The omega’s claws had pierced through his chest. Their eyes had met as Theo hung in the air on the edge of the cliff. Scott will never forget the look in Theo’s eyes. The pain and the fear. He’d opened his mouth, whispered Scott’s name. Scott had ran towards the edge of the cliff as he fell, but it had been too late. Theo went under the water and he hadn’t surfaced. 

He’d called Argent and then the Sheriff as he was running down the path to the river, the omega completely forgotten. He’d found out later that Argent had caught up with him, but he hadn’t cared to ask more. All he cared about was finding Theo. Being sidelined by the Sheriff’s department hadn’t been ideal, but at the time he’d let them talk him into waiting at home in case Theo came back.

He hadn’t. 

He’s still out there somewhere. Scott tells himself he has to be alive. Even as the doubt starts to creep in. If he’s alive, why hasn’t he come to find him?

Scott tries to shake the thought away as he keeps looking. He’s going to look all night if he needs to. He can’t sleep until he knows Theo is okay.

He jumps across the lake, and walks along its edge before heading further into the expanse of trees. He calls Theo’s name, hoping that whether he is he can hear him. That he knows Scott is out here looking for him. He hasn’t given up hope. 

Then he hears it, the faint thumping of a heartbeat nearby, growing steadily louder. “Theo?”

“Scott.”

Scott stumbles forward, towards the voice. It’s hoarse and faint, but still achingly familiar. Then he sees him. Theo. He’s leaning against a tree, his hand pressed against his chest. He looks like hell, but he’s alive.

Theo,” Scott whispers, stumbling towards him. "I was starting to think you were dead.”

Theo shrugs, giving him a wry smile. "Yeah well, sorry to disappoint you. But here I am, alive and…"

Scott doesn't give him a chance to finish. Here closes the last few feet between them, takes Theo's face in his hands, and kisses him. It's hard and a little desperate, mirroring the way he's been feeling the past few hours as he searched for Theo.

“I love you,” Scott pants against his lips. “So you better quit trying to die on me.”

Theo smiles and kisses him, softer this time. “I’ll do my best.”

“You’ll do better than that,” Scott tells him. “Or I’ll never let you out of my sight again.”

“Promise?”

“That wasn’t supposed to be a good thing.”

“No? I don’t see anything bad about getting to spend all my time with you,” Theo says.

“Has the blood loss gone to your head?” Scott asks him. He brings his hand up to Theo’s forehead, and Theo laughs and grabs it, holding it against his chest. Even though he’s been able to hear the beating of Theo’s heart, the steady thumping under his hand is a reassurance. One that Theo clearly understands that he needs.

“I’m okay,” Theo assures him. “A little banged up and sore, but I’m alive.”

Scott nods and rests his forehead against Theo’s, breathing him in. He smells like dirt and river water, but underneath there’s still the familiar, comforting scent that’s all Theo. “We need to get you home and make sure you’re healing alright.”

“Home,” Theo repeats, a smile in his voice. “Sounds nice.”

“Alright, then why don’t we see if those legs of yours are still working?”

“They are,” Theo says. “I’m not that bad.”

Scott still watches him as he pushes himself off the tree. He’s still unsteady, but otherwise seems fine. Scott still shoots a text to his mom, asking her to meet them back at the road. He’s not about to make Theo walk all the way back home like this. Theo falls asleep against his shoulder in the car so Scott carries him inside and up to his room. He only wakes him so he can change into dry clothes. After that Theo falls back onto the mattress. He buries his face in Scott’s pillow and inhales deeply. Scott’s heart flips in his chest, warm with affection. He’d almost lost this tonight, before he’d even really had it. It’s with that thought that he crawls into bed next to Theo. 

Theo immediately turns over and crawls into Scott’s space. Not that Scott minds one bit. If he needs the contact this bad, there’s no doubt Theo does too. Scott holds Theo as he falls asleep, and in the hours after. He can’t sleep himself, afraid that if he closes his eyes he’ll wake up and this will all have been a dream. So he stays awake, watching Theo. Taking in each rise and fall of his chest, and the steady rhythm of his heart. Each thing a reassurance that Theo is safe and alive. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/comments make my day 💜  
> You can find me [here on tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


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